The Lethal Error in Appeasing Iran – Melanie Phillips
When the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015, one of the many reasons offered for that agreement was that it would help the supposedly moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Addressing the annual Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran last weekend, Rouhani called Israel a “cancerous tumor.” Meanwhile Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, urged conference participants to “strengthen the Islamic awakening and resistance movement in the region as much as they can, because the only way for the salvation of the region is to spread this spirit and thinking.”
Yet despite this deranged, genocidal call to arms, European governments are still trying to circumvent U.S. policy against Iran. The Europeans’ eagerness to continue to trade with Iran is disgusting. The U.S. lists Iran as the world’s principal state sponsor of terrorism. The regime has been in a state of self-declared war against the West since it took power in 1979. It regularly denies the Holocaust and re-states its intention to wipe Israel off the map. It should simply be unconscionable to trade with Iran. The writer is a columnist for The Times (UK). (JNS)